Stay Abreast Of Current Events

The theme of today's article is perhaps not a regular topic of discussion or even a standard subject in business school, but it is definitely very important to your success. To be successful in business, you need to constantly stay informed about what is going on in the world. That is, you must stay on top of the news.

Let's assume that you have learned about past news (that is, history) in your many years in school and through books. That is your knowledge base. The smart people will realize that the learning does not stop there. New things are happening every day. Whether it be the fall of the Berlin Wall, Netscape's IPO, the Microsoft anti-trust trial, or even a new President (and political party) in office, these events will have an impact on business and your life; some more directly than others.

Not only must you know what is going on, you must also learn to spot the trends. If you are in the media business, you should notice that the sector is "converging." That is, smaller media companies are being bought out by larger ones, which are building a presence in different types of media. This is creating huge agglomerations of media resources. AOL Time Warner is the perfect example of this trend. The point is that if you are able to spot the trend before others do, you will be able to benefit where others will be missing the boat.

what bubble?

Another good example is the so-called Internet Bubble. Some smart individuals had cut through the hype and took a good, hard look at what was not being reported, and saw trouble. They took the time to analyze things carefully with publicly available information. Most of these people sold at the crest of the wave and made a killing, plain and simple. Others, unfortunately, weren't as observant and got swept up in the tidal wave only to find themselves washed up (and stunned) on the shore, if they were lucky enough to avoid the rocks.

One of the most important qualities of a good CEO is the ability to scan the external environment and accurately incorporate the information it holds into a sound corporate strategy. Trying to run a business without reading the news is like hitting a tee shot in golf without knowing how many yards away the hole is. You can hit a great 300-yard drive only to learn that you were playing a 139-yard par 3! You need to tailor your actions appropriately or you are headed for trouble.

Consequently, what should an aspiring businessman do to keep afloat of the information overload of the new millennium? The trick is to selectively read certain publications on a regular basis to get the right mix of news and analysis. In the rest of this article I will suggest some websites that comprise a good starting point to keep track of the news and keep you in the power loop. After all, if you can't talk shop with the top brass, you can forget about being part of the group.

Keep reading for my list of must-see sites if you want to make it into the circle of power...